2014-04-28 General Committee Meeting Agenda Pages 65-200

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                                    28 APRIL 2014


    Low use / low impact permits will remain as a permit category and are generally for
     applications that have little impact on the community, do not operate in a high use / high
     impact location, are for one year and can be considered anytime;
    That a permit holder be only granted one permit from the range of activity types available to
     facilitate more open competition and reduce the likelihood of a monopolistic permit
     environment;
    Council reserves the right at its absolute discretion not to offer any permit having given
     sufficient consideration to the impact of the application on the community amenity and
     commercial businesses.

Multiple Permit Holders
There are three operators who have multiple permits that will be affected by allowing more
competition via the granting of a single permit for an activity. These are:

    The operator of Learn to Surf 1 also operates Kayak Hire and Tours – Main Beach;
    The operator of Learn to Surf 2 also operates Beach Hire – Main Beach;
    The operator of Learn to Surf 3 also operates Stand Up Paddle Board Main Beach and
     Lions Park.
Previous Council Consideration
SCRC - endorsed the Community Land and Complementary Activity Strategic Policy on 27 April
2011. Due to the confidential nature of the report the specific details of the Council’s decision on
this matter are unavailable.

Noosa Council - At the Ordinary Meeting 6 March 2014: That Council note the report by Co-
ordinator Property and Land Management to the Planning and Organisation Committee dated 25
February 2014 and determine that no high use / high impact permit applications be approved
until such time as the Noosa Council has adopted its future policy framework for commercial use
of community land.
Finance & Risk
The costs that will be incurred in the administration of the permits are accommodated in Council’s
operational budget (predominately as labour costs) within the Corporate Services Department.
The risk of not endorsing a policy, and by default encouraging an inconsistent approach and
therefore unfettered growth of these activities, exposes Council to criticism from the community,
who value recreational space, and potential going concern issues for existing commercial
businesses and permit holders.

Consultation

External Consultation - Community & Stakeholder
In February this year, Council conducted consultation with current permit holders. All permit
holders have been contacted and encouraged to provide feedback on issues related to their
permits, appropriate locations, activities and a possible future approach to issuing permits by
Council. Many of the permit holders either visited the Council, or have provided written feedback.
Common themes emerging from the consultation include:
    That Noosa Main Beach and adjoining areas cannot support more surf school, kayaking or
     beach hire activities if current businesses are to remain viable;
    That a flat fee structure be adopted by Noosa Council. Activities that attract patrons at high
     profile locations should pay more than those permit holders with less opportunity. For
     example, Main Beach surf schools should pay more than the beach massage and
     catamaran hire;

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